JOPLIN, Mo. —
Funding decisions are to be made next week by the Joplin Tornado First Response Fund board.
The board on Thursday heard nearly four hours of presentations by 12 organizations seeking a share of the fund for tornado recovery and emergency preparedness work.
A round of grant funding amounting to $350,000 is to be made available this round from the $800,000 fund. The fund was established for donors who wanted money to go directly to Joplin needs that other governmental agencies and organizations would not fund.
The fund’s board agreed by consensus last week to ask a dozen applicants for presentations to get further details on their needs. It advanced six requests without requiring presentations.
Those advanced without presentations are the Area Agency on Aging, $40,000; the Independent Living Center, $8,000; Freeman Health System, $11,138; Legal Aid, $30,570; Economic Security Corp. for Head Start, $8,500; and Big Brothers Big Sisters, $6,285. One other request was ruled out. The six requests that were advanced amount to $104,493 if they are funded in full.
A meeting is to be held Monday to discuss decisions on those requests presented Thursday.
Themes of the dozen presentations were helping children who are traumatized by the 2011 tornado and having behavior problems; storm shelters; a need for appliances and furnishings for residents who were wiped out and did not have insurance or enough insurance to provide all their needs; funding for rebuilding some homes; and resources to feed and house volunteers and distribute donated supplies.
Phillip Wilcoxon, the chief executive officer of Ozark Center, asked for funding of $94,000 to buy software for a platform that would allow all of Joplin’s schools, including the private ones, to provide texting via computers for students as part of mental and emotional counseling and support services.
“I think the proposal we have before you is pretty innovative,” he said. It would allow students to use texting to talk to counselors about their concerns. He said that while older people prefer to talk by telephone, the way to engage young people is by texting. He said that setting up the system and paying the software licenses would cost about $30,000 the first three years, and then Ozark Center would pay a $4,000 annual fee to support the program afterward.
He said the particular service proposed is used by 300 school districts across the country. It also would allow messages and emergency alerts to be delivered to all students or to select groups. It would be manned around the clock, and a crisis team would be in place to respond to a student’s home if need be.
The Joplin Family Y asked for $36,509 for a specialized after-school care program for children who are acting out because of tornado-related issues. Kim Gray, development director for the Family Y, said the money would pay care providers with special training in trauma work. The Y has obtained money to train its existing staff for the work to handle children with threatening problems so that the special assistants would be needed only temporarily.
Other requests: Catholic Charities, $50,000 for appliances and storm shelters for families in need; Salvation Army, $159,162 for caseworkers; St. Bernard Project/Rebuild Joplin, $210,000 for construction materials; Arc of the Ozarks, $50,000; city of Joplin, $250,000 for storm shelters; Joplin Family Worship Center, $240,064 to feed volunteers, hire recovery workers and distribute supplies; Joplin Area Habitat for Humanity, $60,000 to build a house for a displaced family; Joplin Long-Term Recovery Committee, $100,000 for appliances and furnishings for displaced residents to get re-established; American Red Cross, $77,000 for educating people on disaster preparedness; and Jasper County Sheltered Facilities Association/Community Support Services, $65,850 for storm shelters.
Decisions pending
BOARD CHAIRMAN PHIL STINNETT told applicants they would be notified within a week of the funding decisions.
May 2011 Joplin tornado
Tornado grant board hears requests
- May 2011 Joplin tornado
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Donations helping JHS music programs rebuild after tornado
Building a repertoire for the Joplin School District’s orchestra program is a challenge for Kylee VanHorn. “Every time I get on the Internet and look at the music sites, there are so many pieces I want to purchase, and I just don’t have the money,” VanHorn said.
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SLIDESHOW: One year later, One day of unity, updated
Photos from a day of events commemorating the May 22, 2011 tornado anniversary
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Illinois youth group arrives in Joplin to assemble house
Break time was approaching, but Keith Duncan wanted to make one last concentrated push in order to get the large Penske truck unloaded. “Two minutes, people! Two minutes!” he yelled as the students and adults hauling large wooden sections out of the truck began picking up the pace.
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Last of 586 FEMA trailers in Joplin to be prepared for move
For 19 months, rows of nearly 600 units spread out among community and commercial sites were a visual reminder of the homes lost in Joplin on May 22, 2011. One by one, contractors began disassembling and moving the trailers, a testament to their occupants having found places to live.
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Civil engineers release study of Joplin tornado damage
It did not take much wind to flatten houses in the Joplin tornado zone because so many were poorly constructed to withstand wind, according to a study released recently by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Rescuers, tornado victims reunite at Quapaw station
There were lots of hugs exchanged, pictures taken and memories summoned when fire crews on Friday met the two youngsters they pulled, critically injured, from the wreckage of Joplin’s 2011 tornado.
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Quapaw tribe’s firefighters, EMS personnel meet with children rescued at Home Depot in 2011
There were hugs, stories and the occasional tear this morning when two children who were trapped and seriously injured after the 2011 Joplin tornado met for the first time the Quapaw Tribe firefighters and emergency medical workers who pulled them from the wreckage and saved their lives that night.
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New members take seats on redevelopment board
Three new members took their places on the board of the Joplin Redevelopment Corp. in a meeting Thursday. The panel welcomed as new members Laurie Delano, vice president of finance for Empire District Electric Co.; Gary Duncan, retired president and chief executive of Freeman Health System; and Phil Stinnett, a former Joplin council member and mayor.
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Tornado grant trustees look to shelter placement
Trustees overseeing a Joplin tornado fund hope to use some of their remaining money to move FEMA-financed tornado shelters to areas where they are needed.
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Documentary about Joplin Globe coverage of tornado wins 2013 Mirror Award
The documentary “Deadline in Disaster” has won a 2013 Mirror Award in the “Best Single Story” category.
- More May 2011 Joplin tornado Headlines
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